Free Falling for Mr. December by Kate Hardy

good philosophy.’
    He thought of Xander and guessed that she was thinking of her sister. Wanting to push away the sadness, he said, ‘Can I be nosey and look at the photographs you took earlier?’
    â€˜Sure.’ She took her camera out of her bag and handed it to him. Again, their fingers touched and adrenalin rippled through him. From the brief widening of her eyes, Nick thought it might just be the same for her, too. Instant attraction. Something he had a feeling neither of them really had time for. And yet something about Sammy made him want to explore this thing between them further. Even though he didn’t do love any more. Or maybe it would be different with Sammy, because she loved her job as much as he loved his. And she was direct. He didn’t think she’d say one thing and mean another, the way Naomi had.
    â€˜These photographs are amazing,’ he said. ‘I’d never really noticed the kind of details you picked out. The stonework, the windows, the ironwork. You’ve made me see my workplace in a completely different way.’
    â€˜It’s what I do,’ she said simply. ‘The same as you made me think a bit differently this morning, when we talked about people being innocent or guilty.’
    â€˜It’s what I do,’ he said. ‘Sammy, are you busy this afternoon?’
    â€˜I’ve got nothing planned. Why?’
    He decided to take the risk. ‘Because I’ve really enjoyed spending time with you and I’m not really ready for that to end just yet.’
    â€˜Oh.’ There was the faintest slash of red in her cheeks. ‘Me, too,’ she said, her voice ever so slightly croaky.
    â€˜Given that we’re just round the corner from Trafalgar Square, I’m tempted to suggest going to the art gallery,’ he said. ‘But it kind of feels wrong to take a photographer to an art gallery.’
    She laughed. ‘Don’t worry about that. I never need an excuse to go to the National Portrait Gallery. That’s not work. It’s pure pleasure.’
    â€˜And you love your job anyway,’ he finished.
    â€˜Like you. And I’m guessing you get nagged by your family as much as I do about overdoing things,’ she said.
    â€˜My sister’s favourite words are, “You work too hard.”’ He rolled his eyes. ‘But how else are you really going to be good at your job and get to the top of your profession unless you put the hours in?’
    â€˜Absolutely. I guess in some areas you could get to the top by nepotism, but it wouldn’t mean that you were any good at your job,’ she mused. ‘And I want to be the best photographer I can be.’
    Her views were so like his own. Nick had a feeling that he’d just met the one woman who might actually understand him. Then again, he’d made that mistake before. He’d thought that Naomi had encouraged his ambitions—to the point where he’d considered easing back on his hours to spend more time with her and start a family. And yet he’d ended up making the same error as his dad and his sister. He’d put his trust in someone who seemed to see things his way on the surface, but had a hidden agenda. Someone weak, who’d lied to get her own way.
    â€˜Nick?’
    â€˜Sorry. Wool-gathering.’ He forced himself to smile. ‘Let’s go to the gallery.’
    When she excused herself to go to the toilet, he asked the waitress for the bill. Except he discovered that Sammy had beaten him to it and already paid it on her way to the ladies’.
    â€˜Thank you for brunch,’ he said when she came back to their table.
    â€˜Pleasure. But it was my turn anyway,’ she said, ‘because you bought the takeaway, the other night.’
    He couldn’t argue with that. But it was refreshing to be with someone who believed in fair shares instead of expecting to be treated all the time.
    On the way to the